With the advent of low cost video imaging devices and digital signal processors, video imaging has been applied to a variety of forward-looking vehicle applications. Night-time and other low-visibility driving conditions are especially challenging, and certain applications such as automatic high beam headlamp control are specifically directed to those driving conditions. The video images under such conditions contain bright spots of various sizes and shapes due to vehicle lights, other light sources and reflectors, and it can be difficult to distinguish bright spots due to vehicle lights from other bright spots, particularly when a monochrome video imager is utilized. Accordingly, what is needed is a reliable methodology for detecting and classifying bright spots imaged by a forward-looking monochrome video camera during night-time operation of a motor vehicle.